X-Message-Number: 9882 Subject: Re: Boston Globe article on Cryonics Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 12:33:46 -0500 From: Will Dye <> In CryoNet message #9877, regarding a 6/3/98 Boston Globe article by Alex Beam, I wrote: >> Scott, did you think that the article was unfair, or that it might >> discourage someone from signing up [for cryonic suspension]? In CryoNet message #9879, Scott Badger () replied: > I know he was trying to be cute with his (at least mildly) derogatory > remarks, but his facts and figures were just plain wrong. Your response prompted me to re-read the original article. I now see your point about the article being potentially misleading. When I first read it, I must have seen the occasional "factoids" as being so ridiculously off-base that they were intended to be part of the humor. Reading it again, however, I can see how readers might well interpret some aspects of the article as being factual. For example: the article lists the web site address for the Cryonics Institute. It's reasonable for a reader to suppose that even though the article was intended to be funny, the web site address should still be accurate (which it was). Just so, one might well expect that the fees discussed in the article were also accurate (which they were not). In other words, even though the article was humorous overall, it at least appeared to be mixing in some factual information. I believe that in a widely-distributed & professionally-written forum like the Boston Globe, even a humorous article should be held to the standard that if something appears to be factual, it should either be properly researched, or hedged in some way -- perhaps with another joke. It may seem that we're taking the subject of humor a little too seriously, but cryonics is a potentially life-saving procedure, so it's only proper for us to be meticulous. If someone is considering signing up, even our critics should agree that the decision should not be influenced by outright errors regarding definable facts like cost schedules. Thanks for your response, Scott. I'll cc this posting to the author of the article. I guess I'll also cc it to the Boston Globe editors, not as an attempt to get the author into trouble, but merely to give them yet another example of readers who really do care about the details in their work. --Will ___________________________________________________________ William L. Dye \ "Faith is not 'believing, in spite of the \ evidence'. Faith is 'obeying, in spite of \ the consequences'." --Dr. Michael Youssef Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9882